Ex-NT chief defends Chamberlain case

The man who ordered Lindy Chamberlain's release from prison says the Northern Territory has been unfairly demonised for its handling of one of the most sensational cases in Australia's history.

Lindy and her late former husband Michael Chamberlain were convicted, pardoned, exonerated and compensated over the death of their daughter Azaria, who disappeared on a family camping trip to Uluru in 1980.

Despite saying a dingo took the little girl, Lindy Chamberlain was jailed in 1982 after she was found guilty of murder while Michael Chamberlain was given a suspended sentence for being an accessory.

Mr Chamberlain, who died on Monday from complications with leukaemia, had slammed the 32-year legal saga of trials, appeals and inquests as "one of the worst perversions of justice and forensic science in Australian history".

But former Northern Territory Chief Minister Steve Hatton has rallied to defend the authorities involved, insisting they acted appropriately throughout the case.

"I feel quite sad for Michael and his family. He's obviously been through some traumas in his life," he told AAP on Tuesday.

"(But) the Northern Territory police force and judicial system shouldn't be continually facing this level of ongoing national and international acrimony."